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Thursday, February 14

Food: IHOP in Metro Manila

Breakfast lovers -- it's finally here! IHOP has come to Manila, and I got to preview the place (and taste the food) yesterday. It is the first in the Asia Pacific region, with plans of putting up 5 more in Metro Manila, totaling to about 20 in the Philippines.

One of the prerequisites whenever we travel to the States is to somehow eat at least once at IHOP. I am sure you've heard about International House of Pancakes. But if you haven't yet, maybe you're living under a rock -- haha, kidding. Seriously, they serve the most amazing omelettes, pancakes and french toasts!

It is located at the W Global Center at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, and the space boasts a light and airy interior, sans the barn/cottage/blue gable roof we are all accustomed to.

The entrance might seem teeny tiny. But once you go up the lengthy staircase (at least for me -- hiningal ako!), you'll see a much bigger dining area. Gone ARE the diner-type tables, chairs, everything. They've been replaced by a refreshing modern look. Uhmm, sorry my US readers, you can only find this IHOP style in their international locations.

They have drum pendants that has a play on typography. Here's a closer look at their custom drum lamp.

Now, let's get right down to business.

Up first are drinks. I had lemonade, and my fellow blogger, Gerry San Miguel of Dude for Food, had Splashberry. Below is a photo of our drinks. I love IHOP's lemonade (P175). A bit pricey but lemonade THIS good is pretty hard to find in an iced tea country like the Philippines. Of course I will pay extra just to have that lemony goodness. IHOP's Splashberry is a sparkling drink made from strawberries, lemon-lime soda and premium orange juice. I actually ordered Spashberry, too, after I finished my lemonade. It reminded me of a mimosa mocktail. :)

L - R: Splashberry (P175), Lemonade (P175)

The people at IHOP love me. They served my all-time favorite Big Steak Omelette. I swear I can finish the whole thing all by myself. It's that good! It has tender strips of steak, crunchy hash browns, fresh green peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and Cheddar cheese, and it is served with a side of salsa and two fluffy buttermilk pancakes.

Big Steak Omelette (P325)

Speaking of pancakes, IHOP has several pancake syrups to choose from. Usually they have four, but our table only had three -- Old Fashioned Maple Syrup, Butter Pecan (my ultimate favorite), and Strawberry. The syrup missing-in-action is Blueberry.

Another omelette we tasted was the Spinach and Mushroom Omelette, which came with fresh spinach, mushrooms, onions and Swiss cheese rolled in a fluffy omelette. It was topped with rich hollandaise sauce and diced tomatoes. Now this came as a surprise for me because I didn't think I would like it to begin with. But it has this kind of sweetness to it that is super yummy. I am surely going to order this next time I visit.

Spinach & Mushroom Omelette (P265)

The next dish that came along was the Garden Stuffed Crepes. The plate has two crepes stuffed with Swiss cheese and eggs scrambled with fresh spinach, mushroom and onions, then topped with rich hollandaise and diced tomatoes. This is another dish that's fit for vegetarians. There's a little bit of sweetness to it, but it's very light.

Garden Stuffed Crepes (P325)

The sweet crepe dish that they introduced was the Strawberry Banana Danish Fruit Crepes. The crepes were filled with a combination of strawberries and cream cheese. They were topped with strawberries, bananas and whipped cream. I felt that this dish could have been better if the cream cheese was a tad bit sweeter. Well, what can I say? I love sugar. Haha.

Strawberry Banana Danish Fruit Crepes (P265)

Now, what do we have here? New York Cheesecake Pancakes that I didn't get to try. I heard it's pretty good. Oh and look, there's the blueberry syrup at the end of the table.

New York Cheesecake Pancakes (P285)

If you are a fan of cinnamon, for sure you will enjoy these CINN-A-STACK Pancakes -- two buttermilk pancakes layered with cinnamon roll filling and topped with cream cheese icing and whipped topping. Yum!

Okay, this next one is another amazing dish -- Stuffed French Toast Combo. It's a cinnamon raisin French toast with a sweet cream filling, crowned with whipped topping and your choice of cool strawberry topping, warm blueberry compote or cinnamon apple compote. It is served with two eggs, hash browns, and your choice of two bacon strips or two pork sausage links. Oh em gee, right?

Stuffed French Toast with Cool Strawberry Topping (P365)

Stuffed French Toast with Cinnamon Apple Compote (P365)

The IHOP experience will not be complete without the copper coffee pots and the traditional IHOP coffee mugs.

I've eaten at IHOP countless times, and it was only yesterday that I learned of their slogan, "Spread Happiness". Well, I guess it's true. After eating at IHOP, I always come out happier. :)

Thank you to the Global Restaurant Concepts Inc. group for bringing IHOP to the Philippines.

IHOP at Bonifacio Global City will open its doors tomorrow. That's right folks, they open tomorrow, February 15th. I hear they will open at 6:00 am, and as of yesterday, they don't know yet if they will open for 24 hours, but I'm sure they are open until 2:00 am.

Why does Local version of American restos' food seem yummier?! I love IHOP too, but in Pinas, I still am a huge fan of Pancake house, I guess, the GO-PINOY-Mentality in me is just too powerful, hehehe!

My guess is it's because of management. The people behind great restos here are very good at what they do. Pancake House is love. Funny though, because I've never had pancakes there -- I always get Pan Chicken and their Spaghetti/Taco Combo. By the way, if you like their Spaghetti, they are selling their sauce in a jar na. Just FYI. :D